Due to legal restrictions in the ongoing Cheeki Rafiki trial, we have had to momentarily remove all comments regarding the case.

Our legal team are looking into this and we will advise you once we have further information.

In the interim it would be appreciated if you did not post any further comments in this regard.

Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience and thank you for your patience.

Stef

If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

If you do the calculations a minimum of about 8 of the best quality 5mm LEDs running, with regulated circuitry, at peak brightness, are required to meet the visibility requirements. Bebi put 15 LEDs in their owl anchor light and their web site contains details of some calculations.

So Lidl's statement that each LED has a brightness of 26,000 mcd must be wrong?

We use a couple of them on stern and in front of the mast when anchoring. Fine I think until about 2 or 3 in the morning, and where we sail in the Med nobody enters anchorages more than a couple of hours after darkness. Without any lit bouys to guide you then it would be a bit foolish to enter in full darkness.

Anything is better than a light up in the sky.

it's on my list to get a 12v light on a lead to use if I'm ever in an anchorage with bright shore lights or where people are likely to enter in the predawn hours.

I entered Cawsand bay late on a moonless (misty) night last Summer when there were quite yachts with anchor lights (anchored or on moorings it seemed). I'd never been there before so was trying to work out the lie of the land and the anchored yachts. Masthead anchor lights were **** as it's difficult to relate them to where the yacht was underneath. Garden lights were equally **** as they were just indistinct points of weak light that gave no sense of distance. The best were the ones that shone out as well as down illuminating some of the boat. In other places (maybe) masthead lights are better, I don't know (this was hardly a scientific test) but an anchor light that is bright enough to light up some of your deck makes it much easier for other people to judge distance and orientation of your beloved. I cannot see the point of using garden lights as anchor lights, they're just not bright enough especially when the batteries get old.

Secondly he switches off the lamp with the switch provided when on the club moorings and only uses when at anchor. This means the battery is fully charged and thus last through the night on full power, even in the winter.

he does not anchor for more than one night so limited repeat capability

So Lidl's statement that each LED has a brightness of 26,000 mcd must be wrong

That is not enough to meet the requirements. 5mm LEDs only have an output of about 20 degrees. A fresnel lens in the garden light is often used to extend this to 360 degrees, but the intensity is reduced as the light is spread out over a larger area.

So Lidl's statement that each LED has a brightness of 26,000 mcd must be wrong

That is not enough to meet the requirements. 5mm LEDs only have an output of about 20 degrees. A fresnel lens in the garden light is often used to extend this to 360 degrees, but the intensity is reduced as the light is spread out over a larger area.

Yes thats the conclusion I was coming to.
If each LED was directed around 180°, the vertical spread not increased and there were no no losses the visible range would be reduced to something between 1 and 2 n.miles at best.

It might still be fairly conspicuous at a few boat lengths. Useful perhaps to mark the boat on its mooring.

The one I experimented with had a single LED shining downwards on to a domed reflector. Once the reflector was replaced with a conical one it was pretty obvious in the garden even from a lighted room.

Also overcomes the problem of keeping them in a locker and finding them not charged.
Thinking of getting a card of batteries from the pound shop and they might last all night and not fade in the early hours.